


Winter Song

by drivingmishcrazy



Series: Tamily For The Holidays [4]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Christmas Eve, Christmas fic, F/F, Meeting the Parents, Tara takes no shit, Winter fic, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27914041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drivingmishcrazy/pseuds/drivingmishcrazy
Summary: It’s Christmas Eve, and Tara and Emily are having dinner with Ambassador Prentiss.
Relationships: Tara Lewis/Emily Prentiss
Series: Tamily For The Holidays [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006872
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	Winter Song

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for homophobic microaggressions

It was their first Christmas together.

Okay, technically it was their  _ second  _ Christmas together, but considering how new their relationship had been that first Christmas they were a couple, Tara wasn’t sure that it counted. Now they had been together a full year, and  _ this  _ year, they were having Christmas Eve dinner with the ambassador, and if  _ that  _ didn’t mark a major turning point in hers and Emily’s relationship, she didn’t know what would.

She knew that Ambassador Prentiss  _ knew  _ that she and Emily were in a relationship, she had found out  _ that  _ much around the Fourth of July. Elizabeth Prentiss’ response to the revelation that her daughter was in a relationship with a woman had been lukewarm at best and if Tara was being honest, she kind of dreaded the idea of spending an entire evening with the woman. 

But she  _ loved  _ Emily. 

Tara loved Emily so much she thought her heart would break at the thought of disappointing her and no matter how much Emily said anything to the contrary, Tara  _ knew  _ that this dinner with her mother was important to her. No matter how much Emily went on about how she didn’t need her mother’s approval or validation of their relationship, she would be crushed if things went worse than she expected. So for that reason, Tara swallowed her pride and every judgment that she had reserved for the esteemed politician who could very well become her mother-in-law one day, put on her nicest outfit, and resolved to make the best impression that she could for the woman she so desperately loved.

“Emily, darling!” Elizabeth Prentiss exclaimed, hugging her child when she answered the door at 6 PM. “Oh it’s so lovely to see you! It’s been too long.”

“Well, the phone works both ways, mother.” Emily said stiffly. “You remember Tara, my uh-“

“Yes yes, your  _ partner,  _ I know.” Elizabeth said. “How could I forget, after the fourth? I hope one of you wiped down those kitchen counters afterwards.”

Tara grimaced at the memory. She and Emily had just moved into their new house, a cute little colonial on a cul-de-sac with four bedrooms. They hadn’t been expecting the ambassador for another hour at least and had planned on officially telling her about their relationship at a housewarming that doubled as a barbecue for the holiday. Instead, the elder Prentiss had arrived early and found the two women in a rather compromising position in the kitchen. Emily had been wearing a floral dress that day, a rare occurrence and the sight of her girlfriend in such feminine attire that flattered every curve of her body had made Tara hungry for more than just hot dogs and steak. She hadn’t been sure how successful that initial meeting with Ambassador Prentiss would be, but the shocked gasp when she walked in and saw Emily on the countertop, the skirt of her dress hiked up to her waist and Tara’s head between her thighs wasn’t exactly how  _ any  _ of them had imagined that afternoon going.

“Mother.” Emily said through clenched teeth. “Don’t you think that topic is a  _ little  _ inappropriate for Christmas Eve dinner?”

“Oh, Emily.” Elizabeth waved a hand dismissively. “You act as though I didn’t live through the sixties, dear! I’m well aware that what adults do in the privacy of their own home is perfectly natural. Even if both adults happen to be women. Dr. Lewis, how are you? Well and keeping my daughter happy, I hope.”

Tara bit back the urge to retort with  _ ‘Yes, as a matter of fact I pride myself on giving your daughter multiple orgasms a day in various locations in the house’  _ and forced her features into a polite smile.

“I am well, thank you.” She said. “As for keeping Emily happy, she hasn’t had any complaints that don’t involve me getting engine grease all over her hand towels so I’d say that I’m doing alright in that respect.”

“Ah yes.” Elizabeth said. “Emily  _ did  _ mention that you enjoyed restoring cars. I suppose that’s not uncommon among women with your...predisposition.”

Tara stiffened, and her chest burned with anger. She was used to ignorant comments like that from strangers, but even her own father, who had had some difficulty accepting hers and Emily’s relationship at first, had been careful to retain at least some level of respectful speech in her presence. Clearly, the same courtesy wouldn’t be extended here. Beside her, Emily grabbed Tara’s hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. It seemed to say  _ ‘Calm down, I’m right here. I love you and I appreciate you doing this for me’  _ so Tara took a deep breath and let the remark go. It was just dinner, she reminded herself. Just a couple hours of playing nice with this woman and they could go back to their cozy little house, curl up on the couch and watch Christmas movies until midnight. She could do this. For Emily, she could do anything.

“Well, make yourselves at home.” Elizabeth said, seeming to take no notice of how her previous comment had been received. “Dinner should be just about ready, I hired this wonderful cook, she studied with that angry British man on the television!”

Tara took several deep breaths and reminded herself once again: It was just dinner. Just dinner with the woman she loved more than anyone else in the world and the impossible woman who had given birth to her.

This might be harder than she thought.

To the credit of Ambassador Prentiss’ chef, the food was delicious. Granted, Tara was normally more interested in  _ feeding  _ ducks than she was in  _ eating  _ them, but it tasted good all the same. It wasn’t lost on Tara that Emily purposely dominated the dinner conversation with her mother, acting as a buffer between the ambassador and Tara. Her heart swelled with love and she was once again reminded why she had agreed to this dinner in the first place. It wasn’t  _ just  _ that it was important to Emily, though it was, no matter how much she tried to deny it. 

Tara had ulterior motives. Though she was what her father called a ‘modern woman’ in every sense of the word and didn’t shy away from bucking tradition, there were still a few old-fashioned customs that had been ingrained into the very essence of who Tara was as a person. She knew she didn’t  _ need  _ Ambassador Prentiss’ approval  _ or  _ her permission to marry her daughter, but something in Tara’s nature made her  _ want  _ Elizabeth’s blessing all the same. She hadn’t decided  _ when  _ exactly she was going to ask Emily to marry her, only that she wanted to do it soon, and Christmas Eve dinner had seemed at least in theory to be the perfect opportunity to take Elizabeth Prentiss aside and make her intentions known. As the evening wore on, however, Tara wondered if her plan would prove to be  _ too  _ ambitious.

After dinner, the three retired into the ambassador’s sitting room for a glass of wine before departing for the evening. The conversation was innocuous enough at first, with Elizabeth prattling on about the latest political gossip and Emily adding a comment here or there when she heard a name she recognized. To Tara, they might as well have been speaking in Hebrew. It was easy to tune it out and let her mind wander. But trouble was soon brewing once again when Ambassador Prentiss addressed Tara once more.

“Tara, Emily mentioned that you went to Dartmouth.” She said. “How did you like it?”

“Very well.” Tara said. “It’s a great school, I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to go there.”

“Yes, well my daughter tells me that you have quite the mind.” Elizabeth said. “I believe her exact words were ‘Brilliant, the smartest woman I know’.”

Tara smiled. “Well, that’s certainly high praise coming from her.” She said. “Considering that Emily is the smartest, funniest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the privilege of being with.”

“Oh stop!” Emily said. A faint blush crept across her cheeks. “You always talk me up, Tara. Honestly, mom, I don’t know  _ what  _ this woman sees in me.”

“Well now, don’t sell yourself short, Em.” Elizabeth said. “You’re a very accomplished woman, your career speaks to that, and you’ve always been so caring. Anyone would be lucky to have you. Your partner clearly sees that and I’m glad she does. ”

“Of course I do.” Tara said. She took Emily’s hand in hers and stroked it affectionately. Elizabeth shifted in her seat and Tara couldn’t tell if it was out of discomfort at the display of intimacy or merely a coincidence.

“Emily said that you both spent Thanksgiving with your father and brother.” The ambassador said. “I take it that they’re both...accepting of your relationship?”

Tara tried her best not to visibly deflate. “My brother was right from the start.” She said. “He’s known for a while that I’m gay and he told me that he likes Emily more than any of my past girlfriends. My dad took a little while to come around but he’s a little more old fashioned. Once he came to the conclusion that God made me this way and God doesn’t make mistakes, we were able to talk about it like adults.”

“Oh, men!” Elizabeth said with a dramatic flourish of her hand. “I’m sure your father is wonderful but I’ve always found the male of the species to be just a bit more set in their ways than us women. Probably for the best that my daughter found you and didn’t settle for some alpha who wanted to keep her barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Imagine!”

“That’s a little dismissive.” Tara said, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. “Don’t you think? I mean you don’t  _ choose  _ who you fall in love with.”

“Well, of course not!” Elizabeth said. “I only meant-“

“And what if Emily and I decided to have children?”

Elizabeth paused. “I don’t mean to sound indelicate…” She said, seeming to carefully measure her words. “But I  _ am  _ curious how you would mean to accomplish that given that both you and Emily are reaching the far end of childbearing age and adoption agencies may not be accommodating of people like you.”

Tara stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“Obviously they can’t  _ say  _ they’re denying you based on age or sexual orientation.” Elizabeth said. “But they can say that they don’t think you’re the right fit. I don’t mean to be cruel, but the world just hasn’t changed fast enough to give the same consideration to  _ alternative  _ families. That’s just the reality.”

Emily sat up straight in her seat, alarmed by the turn the conversation had taken. She seemed to sense Tara’s anger and put a hand on her girlfriend’s knee in an attempt to keep things from spiraling out of control.

“Mother…” She warned. “I’m not sure that’s very helpful. I understand your concern but-“

“Alternative families?!” Tara exclaimed. “With all due respect,  _ Ambassador,  _ mine and Emily’s relationship isn’t a diet or a fashion trend that can just change or go away. It’s real and just as valid as any relationship between a man and a woman would be.”

“I never meant to imply that it was.” Ambassador Prentiss said. “I’m not one of these backwards people lobbying to take away people’s rights. I’ve had several gay friends and colleagues even  _ before  _ it was socially acceptable to be ‘out’ in public and I never once had a problem with any of them…”

“That may be true, Ambassador Prentiss.” Tara said curtly. “But if I may be so bold, for a diplomat you could do with a bit more tact in this area.”

“Tara…” Emily said.

“No, baby!” Tara snapped. “I need to say this. Ambassador Prentiss, I love your daughter very much and I can see that you are trying to be accepting of our relationship and I respect that but words matter, how you say them  _ matters  _ and ignorant comments from well-meaning people can be more hurtful than derogatory statements made by outright bigots so before you speak,  _ please  _ consider what it is that you’re saying and how you say it.”

Silence fell over the room like a down comforter, with all of the thickness and none of the warmth. Tara looked over at Emily and saw that her girlfriend’s mouth was agape, shock and horror and a little awe written all over her face. Ambassador Prentiss’ face was unreadable. Tara’s heart sank, worried that she had gone too far. She saw her chances of getting Elizabeth’s blessing to propose to her daughter slip away before her eyes and feared that if her outburst caused a rift between Emily and her mother that Emily might turn away from her too. After a long moment that seemed to last forever, the ambassador cleared her throat. What she said next surprised Tara.

“You are absolutely right.” She said. “I’m sorry. If there’s anything that my line of work has taught me, it’s that any statement, no matter how well-intentioned, can be offensive if the right words aren’t chosen. I was insensitive, you have my sincerest apologies.”

Tara blinked. “Uh, apology accepted.” She said. “I’m sorry if what I said was too harsh.”

“No, no. Your severity was justified.” The ambassador gave a wry smile. “In all honesty, I’m impressed that you had the nerve to stand up to me. Even my ex-husband had difficulty in that department. I can see why Emily is so taken with you.”

“You are?” Emily said. She sounded about as surprised as Tara felt. Tara touched her hand.

“Thank you” She said. “I appreciate you saying so.”

Emily turned to gape at Tara now. “You do?”

“Oh, honestly Emily.” Elizabeth said. “Don’t sound so shocked. You always expect the worst to happen.”

“I do not!” Emily replied.

“Eh.” Tara said. “You are kind of a glass half-empty person, babe.”

“Oh great.” Emily said, rolling her eyes. “Now you guys can team up against me.”

“Me?” Tara grinned and kissed her cheek. “Never.”

“Well, I for one am relieved.” Elizabeth said. “Now that we’re all on the right foot, we can move forward.”

Tara smiled. “I’d like that.” She said. “Let’s start over.”

The rest of the night went much more smoothly and instead of awkward small-talk, Tara found much to her surprise that Elizabeth Prentiss made an effort to get to know her, not just as her daughter’s lover, but as a person. In return, Tara felt more willing to open up to the woman who had given life to the person she loved most in the world. With that uncomfortable beginning behind them, they stood on even ground, though Tara couldn’t help but chuckle at how confused Emily looked by the whole ordeal. When it was time to go and goodbyes were exchanged, Elizabeth touched Tara’s elbow gently, a small smile on her face.

“Tara?” She said. “I do hope you’ll forgive me. I know we didn’t get off to the best start but I  _ will  _ try to do better in the future. It’s obvious that you love my daughter and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Emily this happy before. There’s a light in her eyes when she’s with you and the way she talks about you…”

“You’re already forgiven.” Tara said. “Emily told me that things had been tense between the two of you for a long time and I know that tonight was important to her even though she didn’t say as much.”

“I wasn’t the mother she needed me to be.” Elizabeth said. “I can’t take that back but I hope that maybe tonight was the first step in rebuilding that bridge.”

Tara smiled. “I think it was.” She said. Emily was already out the door and headed to the car. Tara turned to follow her then turned back. “Before I go, there was something I wanted to ask you…”

Ambassador Prentiss held up a hand to stop Tara and smiled. “I think that you’re a wonderful woman.” She said. “And should you and Emily ever decide to take the next step in your relationship, I would be honored to have you as my daughter-in-law.”

Tara smiled and choked back tears. “Thank you.”

“No, my dear.” Elizabeth said. “Thank you for bringing the light back into my daughter’s eyes.”

Christmas Eve hadn’t gone the way Tara had expected, but she returned home with Emily that night feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her heart felt light. More importantly, Emily was deliriously happy with the way the night had ended and she showed her appreciation in more ways than one before they went to bed. Lying in the dark before she fell asleep, Tara smiled so hard that it made her cheeks ache. She had survived the dinner and gotten the only thing she had truly wanted for Christmas. She still had to plan exactly when and where she was going to do it but there was one thing she knew for sure: Emily Prentiss was the love of her life, and whether it was the next day, the next week, or the next year, Tara was going to ask Emily to marry her.


End file.
